Wisconsin GOP State Rep. André Jacque claims to be trying to fix a "loophole" in his state constitution, or as I like to call it, banning abortion, the legal procedure guaranteed by the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that gave women a constitutional right to choose.

Of course, by trying to establish "personhood" for fetuses, Jacque's little antics would also result in making in vitro fertilization, embryonic stem cell research, and some forms of birth control like IUDs and the morning-after pill illegal.

Jacque's proposal is so bad that even some of his allies, such as Wisconsin Right to Life, the state's largest anti-abortion group, are opposing it:

Susan Armacost, the group's legislative director, said the measure would have no practical effect, could harm other anti-abortion efforts and would cost groups like hers millions of dollars to conduct a referendum campaign.

At least she's on the right side of this one, despite her pro-forced birth policies.

Madison— Less than a week after an anti-abortion measure was signed into law and blocked by a federal judge, some Republicans are pursuing a change to the state constitution meant to give fetuses a right to life.

The measure — aimed at keeping an anti-abortion statute on the books if the U.S. Supreme Court reverses course on the issue — will have a difficult time passing the Legislature because it has divided anti-abortion groups, with some saying it could inadvertently work against their movement.

Article I of the state constitution begins by declaring, "All people are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights; among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness..."

Rep. André Jacque (R-De Pere) wants to drop the word "born" from that part of the constitution, so it begins, "All people are equally free and independent." He also wants to add a sentence to the constitution that says, "As applied to the right to life, the terms 'people' and 'person' shall apply to every human being at any stage of development."

By the way, is Jacque also in favor of food stamps, Medicaid, and other programs that would keep actual children alive once they're born? Or does "right to life" only apply to cell clusters and feti that may or may not be viable outside the womb?

The issue not addressed by WI Democratic officials is why
did they lost the Senate again to republicans? Walker did not get the boot and
the Democrats did not hold the Senate and the state supreme court is owned by
Koch Industries. The question we have
to ask, thought uncomfortable is: Is this what the people of Wisconsin want?

The Political Carnival is a fast paced Progressive political site that combines humor with dead serious, dementia with politics (synonymous?), and sprinkles in idiosyncratic posts with breaking news.